Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticle

Early Social Security Claiming and Old-Age Poverty: Evidence from the Introduction of the Social Security Early Eligibility Age

Gary V. Engelhardt, Jonathan Gruber and Anil Kumar
Published online before print July 08, 2020, 0119-9973R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.57.4.0119-9973R1
Gary V. Engelhardt
Engelhardt is a professor of economics at Syracuse University (). Gruber is a professor of economics at MIT and a research associate at the NBER (). Kumar is an economic policy advisor and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ().
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Jonathan Gruber
Engelhardt is a professor of economics at Syracuse University (). Gruber is a professor of economics at MIT and a research associate at the NBER (). Kumar is an economic policy advisor and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ().
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Anil Kumar
Engelhardt is a professor of economics at Syracuse University (). Gruber is a professor of economics at MIT and a research associate at the NBER (). Kumar is an economic policy advisor and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ().
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

We estimate the impact of the Social Security early entitlement age (EEA) on later-life income, poverty, and mortality, by tracing birth cohorts of men who had access to different potential claiming ages from the Social Security Amendments of 1961, which introduced age 62 as the EEA. Based on 1968-2001 Current Population Survey data, the average claiming age fell by 1.4 years, Social Security income fell for male-headed families by 2.4% at the mean and 6% at the 25th percentile. Total family income fell, and the poverty rate rose by about one percentage point. Finally, mortality rates fell modestly in retirement.

JEL Codes
  • J26
  • H55

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
Next
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Early Social Security Claiming and Old-Age Poverty: Evidence from the Introduction of the Social Security Early Eligibility Age
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
Early Social Security Claiming and Old-Age Poverty: Evidence from the Introduction of the Social Security Early Eligibility Age
Gary V. Engelhardt, Jonathan Gruber, Anil Kumar
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2020, 0119-9973R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.57.4.0119-9973R1

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Early Social Security Claiming and Old-Age Poverty: Evidence from the Introduction of the Social Security Early Eligibility Age
Gary V. Engelhardt, Jonathan Gruber, Anil Kumar
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2020, 0119-9973R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.57.4.0119-9973R1
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Inconsistent Retirement Timing
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • The Journal of Human Resources Referees Volume 55
  • The Economic Burden of Crime
  • Nonbinding Peer Review and Effort in Teams
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • J26
  • H55
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire